SMILE CASE

Its always very cool when you are an artist who owns a label, but when you are an artist who owns a label and releases albums by cool left of center artists, its even better.

Blacktop Records boss BEN ANDRESS has just released his own cd, under the name SMILE CASE entitled LOSE OUR HEADS, recorded and written all by himself (except with the addition of Kyle Winkworth and Nathan Daniel on keyboards and drums respectivly on a couple of tracks).

While not being punk rock, it seems a very abstract album of tunes with noises set of amongst it all, giving quite a Public Image Ltd feeling to some of the tracks, and a real sense of being inside Ben's mind at the same time.

There are a few samples of movie dialogue contained in the songs, each taking on a life of their own in the process of the album. From the haunting TEXAS HISTORY LESSON with its sparse guitars and echo laden vocals to a track like LIFE OF A PARTY, with its heavy guitars and distorted vocals, like a cross between The Cure and Souxsie And The Banshees having a fist fight with an early Joy Division .

All in All, if you like Music that takes you through the mind of the people who make it, or you just like experimental stuff using conventional instruments, then you should be picking this 12 track disk up.

You can get more info from www.myspace.com/smilecase or www.blacktoprecords.ca

But whatever you do, put SMILE CASE on your list to check out.